Until this week, it had been years since I played a Crash Bandicoot game. In fact, the last one I played was the original on the PlayStation (and I loved it).

So my post-Christmas catch-up period was filled with nostalgic anticipation as I put in Crash's latest adventure, "Crash of the Titans."

While "Crash of the Titans" isn't going to win any awards, it didn't entirely let me down either. Though I swear I don't remember Crash being this, um, dumb.

"Crash of the Titans" has the perennial villain, Dr. Neo Cortex, attempting to take over the world with a giant robot. First, for some reason, he kidnaps Crash's sister, Coco, and his friend Aku Aku. In short order, Crash saves Aku Aku but must still rescue Coco and stop Dr. Cortex.

Graphically, "Crash" looks decent, though it's nothing particularly impressive. Humor is woven throughout the game's dialogue, especially when the bad guys' minions are involved, and I giggled more than once.

Most of the game is what I remembered -- good, clean platforming fun. There's more emphasis on combat this time around, however. The name, I assume, comes from the main gimmick -- hijacking giant monsters and using them to defeat all the other monsters in the area. The monsters are fun combinations of animals, such as the scorpion-gorilla, the scorporilla.

To 'jack' a monster, Crash must do enough damage to stun them. Then he hops up on their shoulders or backs and proceeds to wreak all kinds of havoc with them. If the monster is killed, Crash can go grab another one. The jacking is actually pretty fun, and the monsters are varied enough that there's a notable difference in how they control.

The gameplay is pretty linear, though, consisting mostly of running in a straight line until you get to a circular arena, where you defeat a certain number of enemies to continue on. This can be repetitive, but the combat, while simple, also is strangely satisfying; destruction is always entertaining.

Some of the monsters can't be jacked right away; instead, Crash must hijack smaller ones first, creating a hijack chain until he can get the big one.

For the most part, "Crash of the Titans" is an easy, easy game. It's also short, beatable in just a few long sittings.

However, there are some boss fights -- and one in particular -- that are of the cheap and frustrating variety. Difficult to beat is one thing, but it's another story when you're repeatedly dying just because other monsters keep hitting you and preventing you from defending yourself or attacking the boss (who can only be beaten with a combo, so long pauses don't work). I was having fun until I went from 18 lives to three in one insanely frustrating boss fight. For the first time in a long time, I seriously wanted to throw my controller.

Other than the bosses, I rather enjoyed "Crash of the Titans," despite its simplistic and too-easy gameplay. In addition to the solo play, there's a fun cooperative mode that allows two players to play together as twin Crashes.

I don't know that I would run out and buy it, but it's certainly a decent rent, especially if there are kids involved.